Tag: credit card fees

There seems to be little logic to why some companies tack on nuisance charges.

Fees for this, fees for that — even a fee for paying a fee. Where does it end? I’m afraid I know the answer. In this tough economy, businesses of all types are trying to nickel and dime us with add-on charges. They want you to believe these fees are necessary to cover the cost of doing business, but more often than not, they simply mislead the consumer by adding a hidden mark-up to the advertised price.

Sometimes the fees are small, but other times they can be severe. The mortgage loan industry has been doing this forever, but now the practice has spread like the plague to many other services. I can’t be the only person who is outraged by this continuing practice. Or am I?

Here are eight classic fees that really gnaw at me. Some of them I do a pretty good job of avoiding. Others, not so much …

1. Unlisted Phone Number Fees

This is arguably the granddaddy of them all. I currently get charged $1.75 per month for my unlisted telephone number — $21 per year. Why does it cost the phone company more to keep my number out of the phone book than in it? That’s a rhetorical question, but I’ll answer it anyway: It doesn’t.

2. Convenience Fees

I recently bought four tickets online from Ticketmaster so I could take the wife and kids to see the Harlem Globetrotters. Cost: $300 for the set. But on top of that was a “convenience charge” of $5 per ticket that added $20 to my bill. Usually, buying online saves a company money that they’d otherwise spend on a telephone operator or a store clerk. So why am I being charged to make Ticketmaster’s existence more convenient?

3. Fees for Printing Tickets

I’m not done with Ticketmaster. After gagging on the $20 “convenience” charge for my Globetrotter tickets, Ticketmaster wanted to charge me $2.50 so that I could print the tickets from my home printer. Keep in mind that I also had the option to get the tickets via the postal service — for no charge. Where’s the logic in that? How much do you think it costs Ticketmaster to print the tickets on heavier stock paper, using their ticket machines, and then pay their staff to place the tickets in envelopes with the proper postage and mail it to my house? I don’t know either, but I made sure that’s exactly what Ticketmaster did.

4. Hotel Safe Fees

There are more than a few hotels out there that charge you just for the privilege of using their in-room safes — whether you use it or not. Here’s one hotel that charges $1.69 per night. What a joke. Whenever I see this fee, I ask to have it waived.

5. Tax e-Filing Fees

Among the most egregious fees out there are the ones that charge money for essentially doing nothing more than making a mouse click or pushing a couple of keys on a computer keyboard. How much money does it cost to send some bits of information through the Internet? Well, if you ask TurboTax, it’s $36.95. That’s what they charge to e-file a state tax return. So rather than printing out the return and sending it through the mail, I clenched my teeth and reluctantly paid it. Hey, if you paid attention you’ll find a lesson on opportunity cost buried in there.

6. Tax Refund Fees

After spending four hours doing my taxes with the online edition of TurboTax, I was due a refund. “Perfect!” I thought, “I’ll have TurboTax simply deduct what I owe them directly from my refund.” Unfortunately, it turns out TurboTax charges an additional $29.95 if you choose to go that route. My only other option was to pay by credit card — at no charge. How does that make any sense? So I paid with plastic. I hope TurboTax had to pay the credit card company an interchange fee for me using it too. Dummies.

7. Mortgage Junk Fees

There are dozens of mortgage junk fees out there, some more dubious than others, that make you scratch your head and ask what the heck is that for? Re-conveyance verification fees, commitment fees, and the infamous “warehouse fee” are just three classic examples.

8. And Then There’s This

It’s bad enough that airlines almost universally charge fees to people who have the audacity to travel with luggage. But a while back, United, US Airways, and Delta took things a step further by charging their “valued” customers who chose to pay for their bags at the airport, rather than online, an additional fee of between $2 and $3 per bag.

These measures help young adults to prove they are accountable to the owners and lenders.

When it is time for a student to start building their credit profile? The answer is simple: when ready. You will know by how they budget their money, track expenses and manage their checking or savings and debit cards.

Building good credit is a function of managing your bills responsibly. No teenager or young adult should be in bulk with a credit card or given responsibility for a car loan until they have proven they can manage their cash flow. This means they must show that can deal with obligations without constantly ask the Bank of Dad for more money.

Your child may be ready to manage credit as a rookie, especially if you are willing to look over his shoulder. I prefer to send children to college with pre-paid housing, a checking account and debit card related that does not allow overdrafts. In this way, they have no large monthly bills and can get used to the convenience of plastic without much threat dinging their credit profile.

On the other hand, this approach does little to build good credit. Debit cards and checking accounts do not count for much in the context of the major credit bureaus. Therefore each student must take specific steps to start building a good credit profile. In the real world you want and need from a potential employer or the owner or the car dealer who sees your credit report to see that you are reliable.

Contrary to what many people believe, you do not start adult life with a higher credit score falls as you embezzlement debt. You start with a score around 600 (highest score is 850) and must build through a history of timely repayment of borrowed money.

My oldest daughter is entering her final year at university and for us it’s time to start working on their credit score. After an overview of Erik Larson, founder of NextAdvisor, a financial comparison site oriented, here’s how we approach it:

• Get a credit card. This is by far the quickest and most effective way to begin a credit profile. If I did not think my daughter was ready, I would find a prepaid card or warranty that the reports for the watchdogs of credit (it will say on the application, or just ask). Because she is ready, we’ll choose from credit cards are best suited for students.

• Use credit cards wisely. A credit card opens all sorts of ways to damage your score. Never miss a payment. Pay in full if you can. If you must carry a balance that will not hurt you unless your balance is relatively large. Never charge more than 30% of your credit limit and preferably keep it close to 10%. And do not apply for more than one card at a time or with any frequency.

• Get another form of credit. Having different types of debt helps your score. Thus, a car loan or personal loan or other installment credit can help. It can even help to have a second type, but different card, like a gas card or card store. In some cases, buy furniture or appliances can help conditions monthly. But you have to ask the finance company if they report to credit bureaus.

• Pay all bills on time. If you live off campus, to pay the cable bill or electricity bill or the monthly fee for a new office or on television is a must. It will not do much to build your score. But if you relax and get referred to a collection company is a major ding on your score.

• Do not close unused card account. It’s against-intuitive. Canceling a card can lower your score, because it leaves you with less credit overall, and instantly raises the percentage of the debt capacity you use. A long credit history is part of what makes for a high credit score. So keep those old accounts and ensure that they are in order.

There seems to be little logic to why some companies tack on nuisance charges.

Fees for this, fees for that — even a fee for paying a fee. Where does it end? I’m afraid I know the answer …

In this tough economy, businesses of all types are trying to nickel and dime us with add-on charges. They want you to believe these fees are necessary to cover the cost of doing business, but more often than not, they simply mislead the consumer by adding a hidden mark-up to the advertised price.

Sometimes the fees are small, but other times they can be severe. The mortgage loan industry has been doing this forever, but now the practice has spread like the plague to many other services. I can’t be the only person who is outraged by this continuing practice. Or am I?

Here are eight classic fees that really gnaw at me. Some of them I do a pretty good job of avoiding. Others, not so much …

1. Unlisted Phone Number Fees

This is arguably the granddaddy of them all. I currently get charged $1.75 per month for my unlisted telephone number — $21 per year. Why does it cost the phone company more to keep my number out of the phone book than in it? That’s a rhetorical question, but I’ll answer it anyway: It doesn’t.

2. Convenience Fees

I recently bought four tickets online from Ticketmaster so I could take the wife and kids to see the Harlem Globetrotters. Cost: $300 for the set. But on top of that was a “convenience charge” of $5 per ticket that added $20 to my bill. Usually, buying online saves a company money that they’d otherwise spend on a telephone operator or a store clerk. So why am I being charged to make Ticketmaster’s existence more convenient?

3. Fees for Printing Tickets

I’m not done with Ticketmaster. After gagging on the $20 “convenience” charge for my Globetrotter tickets, Ticketmaster wanted to charge me $2.50 so that I could print the tickets from my home printer. Keep in mind that I also had the option to get the tickets via the postal service — for no charge. Where’s the logic in that? How much do you think it costs Ticketmaster to print the tickets on heavier stock paper, using their ticket machines, and then pay their staff to place the tickets in envelopes with the proper postage and mail it to my house? I don’t know either, but I made sure that’s exactly what Ticketmaster did.

4. Hotel Safe Fees

There are more than a few hotels out there that charge you just for the privilege of using their in-room safes — whether you use it or not. Here’s one hotel that charges $1.69 per night. What a joke. Whenever I see this fee, I ask to have it waived.

5. Tax e-Filing Fees

Among the most egregious fees out there are the ones that charge money for essentially doing nothing more than making a mouse click or pushing a couple of keys on a computer keyboard. How much money does it cost to send some bits of information through the Internet? Well, if you ask TurboTax, it’s $36.95. That’s what they charge to e-file a state tax return. So rather than printing out the return and sending it through the mail, I clenched my teeth and reluctantly paid it. Hey, if you paid attention you’ll find a lesson on opportunity cost buried in there.

6. Tax Refund Fees

After spending four hours doing my taxes with the online edition of TurboTax, I was due a refund. “Perfect!” I thought, “I’ll have TurboTax simply deduct what I owe them directly from my refund.” Unfortunately, it turns out TurboTax charges an additional $29.95 if you choose to go that route. My only other option was to pay by credit card — at no charge. How does that make any sense? So I paid with plastic. I hope TurboTax had to pay the credit card company an interchange fee for me using it too. Dummies.

7. Mortgage Junk Fees

There are dozens of mortgage junk fees out there, some more dubious than others, that make you scratch your head and ask what the heck is that for? Re-conveyance verification fees, commitment fees, and the infamous “warehouse fee” are just three classic examples.

8. And Then There’s This…

It’s bad enough that airlines almost universally charge fees to people who have the audacity to travel with luggage. But a while back, United, US Airways, and Delta took things a step further by charging their “valued” customers who chose to pay for their bags at the airport, rather than online, an additional fee of between $2 and $3 per bag.